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Fresh

The Tomatometer is 60% or higher.

Rotten

The Tomatometer is 59% or lower.

Certified Fresh

Movies and TV shows are Certified Fresh with a steady Tomatometer of 75% or
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AUDIENCE SCORE

Birdy Photos

Movie Info

Director Alan Parker tackles this adapation of William Wharton's novel, which retains much of the source material's texture and complexity. Matthew Modine is Birdy, who comes back from Vietnam mentally shattered and deludes himself into thinking that he is a bird, an animal that has obsessed him since childhood. Birdy is confined to a military hospital, where he spends his time sitting naked in his room, not acknowleding anyone, moving and acting like a parakeet. His best friend Al (Nicolas Cage), also a wounded Vietnam vet, visits Birdy every day, determined to bring him back to reality. Birdy is occasionally disjointed but enriched by strong performances from Modine and Cage and a number of hard-to-forget moments. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi

Raising issues about the nature of madness and what constitutes true freedom, this is a curiously arty film from Parker, a frequently unsubtle director, usually so dismissive of any kind of pretension, but a gripping one, nonetheless.

Audience Reviews for Birdy

This movie has a realistic feel, as it tells the story of two friends, one of which is insane and thinks he's a bird. I saw this on TV the other day, I thought the characters were interesting, but the story was slow and boring. Overall it's an okay movie, though.

Aj V

Super Reviewer

Incredibly touching story about two friends whose lives were destroyed by war. Alan Parker's direction is flawless, as well as the performances and the soundtrack. An emotional roller coaster ride that feels more genuine every time.

Pierluigi Puccini

Super Reviewer

Ever feel totally alone...except in your own head? So did Birdy (played by Matthew Modine). Stuck in a world where he feels he does not belong growing up tethered to the ground by gravity he seeks escape through flight. The flight is as spiritual as it is physical as Birdy makes every effort to run from this world he did not create. He finds one true friend (Played by Nicholas Cage), someone who accepts him unconditionally. This friend (though he has a name there is no use for them in this film) is Birdy's only grounding to a world which holds the horrors of bullies grown up to play with adult toys of war. Birdy's Psyche, wrenched in anger and anguish, trying to come to terms with the things that he cannot understand by seeing them through the eyes of a spirit he can understand...that of a bird...so caged. All of this is set masterfully against Peter Gabriel's soundtrack which is simply his album, "Security," revamped for the film without the lyrics. Interestingly enough though, for those Gabriel fans out there, if you listen to Security and truly read the lyrics it will help you to understand the film. The haunting melody of Wallflower, a song depicting a person who has been institutionalized and is asked to maintain his spirit and not break nor bend to the will of the "keepers" plays throughout this film (sans lyrics of course). "6 by 6 from wall to wall, shutters on the windows no light at all, there's damp on the floor and there is damp in the bed, they're trying to get you crazy get you out of your head...Hold on..." I found this film on cable about 19 years ago and found myself crying. It is truly that moving. Also, like so many good films, the book is excellent as well.